Managed by 15 women per vehicle under the Federation of Stree Shakti groups, these mobile canteens will serve freshly prepared breakfast and lunch across all 30 districts in the state.

In another women-centric initiative by the Karnataka state government, 30 ‘Savi Ruchi Sanchari’ (mobile) canteens were flagged off by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at Vidhana Soudha on Tuesday.

These mobile canteens will be managed by 15 women per vehicle under the Federation of Stree Shakti groups and serve freshly prepared breakfast and lunch across all 30 districts in the state. In fact, one of the the drivers of the sanchari canteens includes Chaudeshwari Ramachandra, the President of the Kolar Federation of Stree Shakti groups, who stood out during the launch event.

As mentioned by Siddaramaiah, each federation had been allocated an interest-free amount of ₹10 lakh by the Karnataka State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) earlier for the procurement of specially designed vehicles, utensils and working capital.

An EMI-break period of seven months has been proffered to the women to ensure that they aren’t deterred from continuing with the project owing to the concerns regarding immediate repayment.

An ambitious project of the incumbent state government, with the aim of endowing women with the charge of the entire supply chain and logistics revolving around the operations of a food truck, the project will unfold in a phased manner, with the canteens functioning in all district headquarters first. Based upon how they fare, the model will be extended to taluks at a later stage.

The best part about the initiative is that the women operating the Sanchari canteens won’t be just preparing the meals! In fact, the canteen crew will decide upon the dishes that they think would work best with the customers.

The women were also given basic vehicle maintenance training for free, in the event that their truck suffers minor issues.

“The idea is to ensure that the federation will run the business effectively and also sustain in the competitive market,” Bharathi Shankar, KSWDC chairperson, had mentioned when the initiative was announced first.

Alongside the canteen launch, 100 differently-abled individuals were handed over keys to modified two-wheelers. To make the process disabled-friendly, the concerned department had accepted online applications from the beneficiaries rather than getting them to submit applications in person, reports The New Indian Express.

Shuttling between existentialist views and Grey's Anatomy, Lekshmi has an insanely disturbing habit of binge reading. An ardent lover of animals and plants, she also specializes in cracking terribly sad jokes.